Eli Manning to Start at QB in Week 17 for the Giants

Interim coach Steve Spagnuolo said Eli Manning will start at quarterback in the Giants’ Week 17 season finale next Sunday against Washington at MetLife Stadium, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News reports.

“Eli will start, and then we’ll probably take it bit by bit,” Spagnuolo said. “We’ll take it and see how it goes.”

This means that there is a strong chance Webb will not play at all in his rookie season, even though the Giants are inching toward the No. 2 overall pick with a chance to draft a top quarterback in April’s NFL draft.

Dressing Webb in games such as Sunday’s would have provided opportunities to give him reps and evaluate some film on his ability to manage the offense. But Spagnuolo made clear in his most extensive comments on the subject yet that winning is his priority; playing Webb is not.

“No, we couldn’t (play Webb when the game got out of hand), because he was inactive,” Spagnuolo said. “We decided to keep trying to win the football game. To me, when it’s a two possession game we’re trying to win the game. And three possession with time (left), if Davis was up there, he probably would have been handing the ball off. I don’t know if we would have put him in the situation. I think we’ve got to be smart. I get the question. I get it.”